Essay

Parkton American Legion Post 256 received 129 essays from students at Prettyboy, Fifth District and Our Lady of Grace schools for its annual Americanism essay contest. This year's title was "How Can I Show My Patriotism in My Community" Jonathan Marker, a fifth-grader at Fifth District and Joshua Beach, in eighth grade at Our Lady of Grace, were honored at a banquet on May 3 in Baltimore for their third-place finishes in their grade levels in competition against 18 legion posts in the northern central district.

Any high school graduate who thinks that college is merely a next step should walk a mile in Gabe Acheson's shoes. When the Park School graduate arrived Thursday at Yale University, he'd walked nearly 400 miles, fulfilling a promise he'd made in his application to the Ivy League school, and to himself, to not just embark on a new adventure but create one. Acheson set out from his Rodgers Forge home on July 29, with a 35-pound backpack, an optimistic...

The following is Megan Lin's award-winning essay for the Maryland Municipal League competition: If I Were Mayor By Megan Lin If I were mayor, I would do my best to represent the city and be responsible for day-to-day management of the city. The city would help residents in businesses, education, health, housing, jobs, public safety, recreation, and transportation. I would build an inclusive community, so nobody would feel like they were not part of the important community. To make the community more inclusive, I will reach out to all the citizens by having regular public hearings, surveys, or interviews with them to hear about their concerns and complaints.

Rachel Tova Minkove, a University of Maryland School of Social Work student who wanted to assist young adults as they fought cancer, died of Hodgkin's lymphoma complications July 29 at her Cheswolde home. She was 28. Born in Baltimore, she was the daughter of Dr. Judah Minkove, an internist, and Judith Fruchter Minkove, a Johns Hopkins Medicine writer and editor. She was raised in Northwest Baltimore and was a 2001 graduate of Beth Tfiloh Dahan Community School. She then studied a year in Israel at a Jerusalem seminary school.

A Baltimore County student who created an award-winning investment strategy that started with a comparison of balanced portfolios and balanced meals was recognized for his efforts Wednesday. Abhinav Khushalani, a fifth-grade student at Cromwell Valley Elementary in Towson, wrote an essay outlining his plan to build a diversified portfolio with stocks, mutual funds and bonds in much the same way he would put together a meal with the five basic food groups. The piece, one of more than 9,000 entries from across the country, won first prize for the 11-year-old in a nationwide competition sponsored by the SIFMA Foundation for Investor Education.

The YWCA of Anne Arundel County is sponsoring the Rev. Martin Luther King Jr. Essay Contest. Students in grades three through six are invited to participate in the contest.The theme of the essay is: "What can you do to contribute to Martin Luther King Jr.'s goal of peace?"The number of words suggested for the essay are: third and fourth grade, 25 to 50; fifth and sixth grades, 50 to 100.The criteria for assessment include originality, concision and continuity.The contest deadline is Feb. 4. Mail essays to the YWCA, 17 Cypress Creek Road, Severna Park, Md. 21146.

100 Years Ago Irish eyed Ellicott City Boy Gets A Prize In the Baltimore News contest for the best essays by children, 12-year old Noble Watkins, of Ellicott City, was awarded the second prize for the following essay. "Essay On Ireland: Ireland is a part of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland. The capital is Dublin on the Eastern coast. There are mountains on the coast and the interior is generally level, with many lakes. Ireland is governed by a lord lieutenant, appointed by the British Government.

Trooper Dale Carnegie came to court yesterday to explain why he failed to show up for a drug trial and left with a punishment more often given to errant schoolboys than undercover officers -- a 500-word essay ordered by the judge.Anne Arundel Circuit Judge Eugene M. Lerner sentenced Trooper Carnegie to write an essay on "the value of a subpoena" for failing to show up for the Aug. 25 trial of an Annapolis man he arrested on drug charges.Willis Wilkerson, 23, was arrested by the trooper March 31 in Annapolis and charged with cocaine possession and distribution.

Cailey Aburn, a senior at the John Carroll School, has been named one of 10 winners in the second "Reconnecting the Circle" National High School Essay Contest. Reconnecting the Circle's mission is to encourage people to learn about Native American cultures. The essay topic was, "Why is reconnecting the circle with Native Americans important today?" Cailey was the only winner east of the Mississippi River in the national contest. She is the daughter of Tad and Joanie Aburn of Jarrettsville.

Olivia Goldberg, a Severna Park Middle School seventh-grader, has won the national InvestWrite essay competition, earning a new laptop computer and a trip with her parents to Disney World. Her teacher, Julie Weber, will also get a laptop, a trip to the New York Stock Exchange and a subscription to the Wall Street Journal. Olivia competed in the InvestWrite essay contest division of the Maryland Stock Market Game for middle school students and discussed the perfect stock to complement the money she is saving for college.

Parkton American Legion Post 256 received 129 essays from students at Prettyboy, Fifth District and Our Lady of Grace schools for its annual Americanism essay contest. This year's title was "How Can I Show My Patriotism in My Community" Jonathan Marker, a fifth-grader at Fifth District and Joshua Beach, in eighth grade at Our Lady of Grace, were honored at a banquet on May 3 in Baltimore for their third-place finishes in their grade levels in competition against 18 legion posts in the northern central district.

"Ace of Cakes,"a Food Network favorite, followed Remington's Charm City Cakes through 10 seasons of stress and laughter. Owner Duff Goldman and his talented team introduced viewers to the fast-paced world of custom cake-making, creating edible masterpieces such as the Hogwarts castle for the premiere of "Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix" and a replica of Radio City Music Hall for the Rockettes. Now, a year after the show's final season and currently busy with a new line of wedding cakes, executive chef Geof Manthorne, 37, reflects on life after the show, how the staff has changed and the future of Charm City Cakes.

This is a quandary about the future of video games, but it also has a lot to do with text messages, phone calls, headsets and millennials.  The backlash to the “Facebook Age” cries out for more human connection, more “real” interactions with those in our social circles. However, the needle seems to be moving in the other direction. Take a poignant joke from last week's episode of NBC's “Community.” Two characters in their early 20s, Troy and Annie, are mortified that their friend Britta (late 20s)

Adam Sahhar spends his days prowling the waters of the Inner Harbor, looking for plunder and teaching passengers a lesson in Pirating 101. As general manager of Baltimore's Urban Pirates, Sahhar, aka Capt. Peppercorn, leads the crew aboard The Fearless, a pirate-themed, children-friendly tour boat armed with water cannons. This is the first week of pirate season, which runs through Oct. 31. Sahhar, a 27-year-old who lives in Fells Point, and the rest of the crew will be on hand for Saturday's Privateer Day in Fells Point.

A fourth-grader at Havre de Grace Elementary School has been named a 2012 Carson Scholar for her academic achievement and inspiring essay written about one of her teachers. Gabriella Vega is the winner of a $1,000 Ben Carson reading scholarship, which will go toward her college education. She was honored during the Havre de Grace City Council meeting March 19, and even had the dubious honor of sitting on the dais during the first part of the meeting. According to the scholarship's website, carsonscholars.org, the award is given to students between fourth and 11th grades "who excel academically and are dedicated to serving their communities.

Last month at the Port Deposit VFW Post 8185, members from the four posts in District 10 gathered to present awards to the students who placed in the two VFW-sponsored essay contests, "Patriots Pen" for middle schoolers and "Voice of Democracy" for high schoolers. Initiated by VFWs across Maryland and across the nation, the local winners in the "Voice of Democracy" were: first place was awarded to Philip Chaffee, sponsored by Elkton Post 8175; second place was won by Eric Barton, sponsored by Port Deposit Post 8185; and third place was earned by Jessica Handy, sponsored by Chesapeake City Post 7687.

Student achiever: Colin Beck, 7 School: Manor Woods Elementary School Special achievement: Winner, in the Project Wisdom essay contest, kindergarten through the second grade. What he says about it: "I was excited because I thought I wouldn't win. When I told my mom and dad, they were really happy. It gave me the feeling I could win again and be smart." What he wants to tell other people: "You should judge people not by how they look, but by the way they act to you." What else he does with his time: "I like to do math.

The student: Scott Ehrlich, 12. School: Clarksville Middle. Special achievement: Scott won a $300 savings bond in an essay contest sponsored by the Martin Luther King Jr. Holiday Commission. His essay addressed the meaning of King's statement, "We must learn to live together as brothers or perish as fools." On winning contests: Scott had entered a poetry contest in the past. "I didn't win that one," he said. "I felt real good when I won this one. I felt that I was keeping Martin Luther King Jr.'s dream alive by giving a report on him. I really believe in what he said."

The more science discovers how the mind works, the less rational humans are revealed to be. We make many important decisions, including choosing a mate and buying a car, based more on emotion than reason. On top of that, our reason is often fatally flawed — even for the smartest among us — as outlined by psychologist Daniel Kahneman in his fascinating 2011 book, "Thinking, Fast and Slow. " He shows that the structure of our thinking, guided by what he labels System 1 and System 2, makes it impossible for us to be impartial actors guided strictly by empiricism.